Current Government policy and uncertainty over future plans are to blame for the recent stagnation of the Irish property market according to the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute (IAVI).
The President of the IAVI, Robert Ganly, told delegates at its annual conference in Dublin today that Government stamp duty is "hurting young families" and amounts to little more than a "tax on hope".
Mr Ganly said that current policy and uncertainty over future plans, was discouraging mobility within the market and that it was "no surprise" that stamp duty receipts had fallen by 14 per cent in the first nine months of 2007.
He called on Mr Cowen to streamline the system and to have a maximum of four separate rates of stamp duty with a top rate of 5 per cent.
This, he said "would dramatically increase the number of transactions, and would benefit the exchequer in the medium term".
"All the property market needs is a jolt of energy, which the Tánaiste can, and should inject immediately if he wants to avoid problems down the road," Mr Ganly said.
